كان أحد المعارف في زمن الدراسة؛ يعشق الضحك؛ وإن دون سبب؛ فهو كائن ضاحك؛ وإن تعرّض لمظلمة تعالت ضحكاته؛ ولو انضرب في المدرسة يعود إلى طاولته يقهقه؛ بل حتى وهو في سابع نومة ترى ملامح وجهه منفرجة الأسارير؛ وعندما تأتيه نصيحة من كبير أو كبيرة سِنّ؛ بأن كثرة الضحك تُميت القلب؛ يردّ ضاحكاً؛ قلبي ميّت من زمان، فيأتيه الردّ؛ الله يهنيك بقلبك.
وقديماً كان لحضور كبار السن الوقورين في حياة الناس هيبة؛ وكانوا سُلطة يبكّتون كل من يخرج عن النص في مجالسهم؛ ولا يغفرون لمن يتطاول بعبارة أو إشارة؛ وينعتونه، بأقبح الصفات؛ ولو ضحك دون سبب؛ يسمع (ما يضحك إلا الهائمات من النساء وإلا رجالٍ ما تداري العاقبة).
وشخصيات البشر كانت ولا زالت تتوزع بين تراجيدي، وكوميدي؛ وبهلول، والبهلول يوصف بأنه من العارفين؛ وله كرامات، ودعاؤه مُستجاب كما كنا نسمع. ومن الشخصيات الخالدة في الذاكرة (المسحور) وكان شاباً وسيماً افتتنت به بائعة متجولة، فسحرته ليتبعها؛ إلا أن أهله كانوا حريصين على مداواته لدى الفقهاء، ولكنه لم يُشفَ، واحتفظ بمهارة النقد الساخر. وعندما توفي والده تزوجت أمه بعمّه، فقال له أحد الملاقيف؛ مبروك زواج أمك، فردّ عليه؛ عقبال أُمّك.
ولم يكن يحتدّ كبار القرى، أشدّ الاحتداد إلا على خفيف الظلّ، ويعدونه خطراً على نسائهم وعلى قراراتهم. ويلقبونه؛ بمضحك الحريم، ولُبانة اللوطة؛ ويحذرون من دخوله لبيوتهم في غيابهم، وكانوا ينقمون على بعض المُدرسين العرب، الذين كانوا يعتنون بأبدانهم وشعورهم الطويلة، وكان أحد المعمرين متزوجاً بسيدة شابة وجميلة، وكلما لاحظ تحركات للمعلمين، يقطع شغله ويعود للبيت داعياً على من ابتلاهم بهاذولا الأوادم اللي كما التفاح، ويقول؛ بيوزوني ابتني لي محجاة سدة الباب.
وبالطبع كانت النكتة أو التعليق الساخر، يأتيان عفويين وغير متكلّفين، ويبقى الصدى يتردد ويستعاد، ويراعى فيه فنّ القول، وعدم الابتذال أو الإسفاف، والبعض ينكّت على نفسه. وكان قرويّاً ساخراً يستفز العريفة بتعليقاته ومرة سمع أن العريفة نوى السفر إلى مصر ليركّب أسنان، فقال له؛ صد لك قرد وركب رأسه محل رأسك أوفر لك من السفر، كما تصدر النكتة عن رئيس ومرؤوس؛ ولعل من قديم النكات الواردة على لسان حاكم؛ جاءت جواباً على حلاقه الثرثار، فعندما سأل الحلّاق الحاكم؛ كيف يريده يقص له شعره، أجابه: «في صمت».
ولم تغب النكتة السياسية عن الفضاء العربي، ومن ذلك؛ أنّ عربيّاً زار صديقه في بلد عربي؛ ولأن الضيف مهندس سدود، سأل صديقه؛ إيش أشهر سدّ عندكم؟ فأجابه؛ سدّ فمك. ومما يروى عن أحد المثقفين أن مسؤولاً طلب منه يقترح اسماً لأحد السدود، فقال له؛ سدّ الخير، وأحد الطلاب في بلد عربي تأخر في صالة الامتحان عن الوقت، وهو لم يُجب على أي سؤال، فسأله المراقب؛ عن سبب تأخره، فقال؛ أحاول فهم الأسئلة، فقال المراقب؛ ساعتين تحاول أن تفهم، فعلّق الطالب؛ استكثرت عليّ ساعتين والرئيس الذي حكمنا ربع قرن لم يفهمنا إلا في آخر نصف ساعة من عمره الرئاسي.
لا ينتقد المقال النكيتة، إلا أن بعضها مستهلك، وبعضها ثقيل دم، والبعض كلما لقط نكتةً من هنا أو هناك، أعاد بثها وهو يضحك ببلاهة. وليس طبيعياً أن نتحوّل جميعاً في عالمنا العربي إلى (نكتنجية) ومضحكاتية، وإن حدث فربما تكون هناك أسباب يرصدها علماء الاجتماع. والنكتةُ لا تعد بذاتها مستهجنة، بل يأتي الاستهجان من غثاثة روح الناقل أو القائل، وتاريخيّاً دوّن فقهاء كُتب المُلح، والقصص ذات الحكايات الطريفة التي كان يتسلى بها الناس في مسامراتهم، ولا غنى للنفس عن سماع ما يبهجها ويعزز مناعتها، شرط ألا تكون سبباً في أذيته؛ فأحد النخب الخليجية زار رئيس دولة (كثير حماقات)، بمناسبة انعقاد مؤتمر، وعندما انتقل مع السائق قاصدين خيمة الزعيم، مروا بسور طويل، فسأل السائق؛ ماذا خلف هذا السور؟ فأجابه؛ مصحة الأمراض النفسية، وبمجرد انتهى السلام على الرئيس، ابتدر الضيفَ بسؤال؛ ما أبرز ما لفت انتباهك في عاصمتنا؟ فأجاب بثقة وبنوع من المزاح المُبطّن؛ مصحة الأمراض النفسيّة، فنهض محتدّاً، وتبعته حاشيته؛ وظلّ الضيفُ وحيداً لساعات ينتظر مصيراً مجهولاً.
One of the acquaintances during my school days loved to laugh, even without a reason; he was a laughing being; and when he faced an injustice, his laughter would only grow louder; even if he was hit at school, he would return to his desk chuckling; even when he was deep in sleep, you could see the smile on his face; and when he received advice from an elder that too much laughter can kill the heart, he would respond with a laugh, "My heart has been dead for a long time," to which the reply would come, "May God bless you with your heart."
In the past, the presence of dignified elders in people's lives had a certain reverence; they held authority over anyone who strayed from the norm in their gatherings; and they would not forgive anyone who dared to speak or gesture disrespectfully; they would label him with the ugliest of traits; and if he laughed without reason, he would hear, "Only the wandering women laugh, or men who do not care about the consequences."
Human personalities have always been divided between the tragic and the comedic; and the fool is described as one of the wise; he has miracles, and his prayers are answered, as we used to hear. Among the unforgettable characters in memory is "the enchanted one," a handsome young man who captivated a wandering seller, who enchanted him to follow her; however, his family was keen on treating him with scholars, but he was not cured and retained a skill for sarcastic criticism. When his father died, his mother married his uncle, and one of the busybodies said to him, "Congratulations on your mother's marriage," to which he replied, "May it be the same for your mother."
The elders of the villages would not get heated unless it was over someone light-hearted, whom they considered a danger to their women and their decisions. They nicknamed him "the women's jester" and "the joker of the lot," and they warned against his entering their homes in their absence. They were also critical of some Arab teachers who took care of their bodies and long hair. One of the long-lived men was married to a young and beautiful woman, and whenever he noticed the movements of the teachers, he would stop what he was doing and return home, cursing those who had afflicted him with these people, who were like apples, saying, "They will make me build a barrier at the door."
Of course, jokes or sarcastic comments came spontaneously and without pretense, and the echoes would resonate and be recalled, taking into account the art of speech and avoiding triviality or vulgarity, and some would joke about themselves. There was a sarcastic villager who would provoke the village chief with his comments, and once he heard that the chief intended to travel to Egypt to get dental work, he said to him, "A monkey will fit your head better than traveling." Jokes would also arise between a leader and a subordinate; perhaps one of the old jokes attributed to a ruler came as a response to his talkative barber. When the barber asked the ruler how he wanted his hair cut, he replied, "In silence."
The political joke has not been absent from the Arab space; for instance, an Arab visited his friend in an Arab country; and since the guest was a dam engineer, he asked his friend, "What is the most famous dam you have?" His friend replied, "The dam of your mouth." It is also said that one intellectual was asked by an official to suggest a name for one of the dams, and he said, "The dam of goodness." One student in an Arab country was late to the exam hall and had not answered any questions, so the supervisor asked him why he was late, and he said, "I was trying to understand the questions." The supervisor replied, "You took two hours to try to understand," to which the student commented, "You thought two hours was too much for me, while the president who ruled us for a quarter of a century only understood us in the last half hour of his presidency."
The article does not criticize the joke itself, but some are worn out, some are heavy-handed, and some, whenever they catch a joke from here or there, broadcast it again while laughing foolishly. It is not natural for all of us in the Arab world to turn into "jokesters" and comedians; if it happens, there might be reasons that social scientists can identify. The joke itself is not inherently objectionable; rather, the objection comes from the lack of spirit of the person conveying or telling it. Historically, scholars have recorded books of humor and stories with amusing tales that people entertained themselves with during their gatherings, and one cannot do without hearing what brings joy and strengthens their immunity, as long as it does not cause harm; for one of the Gulf elites visited a president (full of foolishness) on the occasion of a conference, and when he traveled with the driver towards the leader's tent, they passed a long wall, so he asked the driver, "What is behind this wall?" The driver replied, "A mental health clinic." As soon as he finished greeting the president, he began with a question, "What stood out to you in our capital?" He confidently and somewhat jokingly replied, "The mental health clinic," which made the president rise angrily, and his entourage followed him; the guest remained alone for hours awaiting an unknown fate.
